Jenksismyhero

QUOTE (fathom @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 02:23 PM) More than any other source, if Jared Dudley said it's the Knicks, I believe him. He's one of the most "connected" players in the NBA. I have a hard time believing Lebron and his crew have told anyone at this point, given how secretive he's been so far.

have to love ESPN 1000 claiming as fact that its going to occur at Houston's home based on a tweet (twit?)

QUOTE (WHarris1 @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 02:12 PM) FisolaNYDN Can't confirm this but a Knicks source claims the location may be Allan Houston's house. Wow lol, might be at a boys and girls club now. either way, it's close to NY, i think that says something.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 01:21 PM) What if LeBron leaves? That means 2 of the top 3 left, yet the Bulls still failed. Same answer. It has nothing to do with the Bulls or their players.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 01:18 PM) So, why do you think the Bulls struck out? Because s*** happens? Because the system is designed for superstar players to stay at home? Because they all have pre-existing relationships that a phone call from Rose or Noah wouldn't have changed?

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 01:14 PM) So you think it hasn't hurt us at all that Wade was out there recruiting people to Miami, Amar'e is all over LeBron to come to New York, and our star player is just doing nothing? Good call. I think it's ridiculous to start throwing out "Rose is too shy" as an excuse.

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 01:13 PM) And ownership/management needs to talk to Rose and tell him how pivotal this is for the team and organization and work on making something happen. I wonder why Noah hasn't been involved? Maybe they feel having Noah there without Rose would be a really bad sign, so much so, that they'd rather send no one at all. 4) Noah's hair too out of control (or perhaps not out of control enough?)

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 01:09 PM) Agreed. I remember hearing some people say that Rose's shyness might be a problem when he came into the league, and we might be seeing it now. Reasons Wade/Lebron/Bosh didn't sign with Chicago in 2010: (1) Gar, Pax and Jerry not physically forcing Bosh to sign a contract and/or properly ransoming Wade's kids; (2) Rose being too shy; (3) Benny the Bull not cheering hard enough; Any more?

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 12:24 PM) This board is ridiculous. If we had gotten Bosh he'd be a top 5 player. Now he's not even a top 10. Don't be mad at Bosh because our team is s*** and will always be s***. considering a lot of us were arguing that trading noah for bosh would be a bad idea, this isn't true.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 12:15 PM) Woj has been careful to release any bulls***, and he said this morning that LeBron is not coming to Chicago, and that it's down to Cleveland or Miami. Thus, I have zero hope. He's quoting an official from a team that made a presentation. I'm guessing Russian Cuban who said the Bulls had no chance. That's nothing new.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan99 @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 12:01 PM) Boozer has been running the pick and roll as much as any big man in the NBA the last few years so Boozer could play in either system with ease. My problem with Boozer is that he is one of the worst low post defenders I've seen and he has a really hard time finishing against big men with length. He missed some incredibly easy shots against the Lakers because of his lack of length and athleticism. Wouldn't Noah be taking over those duties though?

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 11:44 AM) Yes he is. Off the top of my head I'd rather have: Lebron Kobe Anthony Durant Williams Dirk Paul Rose Wade Roy Nash Rondo Gasol Duncan (for a couple years anyway) Pierce (for a couple years anyway)

QUOTE (Jordan4life @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 11:40 AM) The Heat now have two of the top 10 players in basketball on the same team. There's no way to spin that into a negative. They'll fill out the roster and are now the prohibitive favorites in the east. Bosh is not a top 10 guy.

QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 11:38 AM) Who cares, Miami with Wade/Bosh/Beasely may be better today, but for how many years in the future? I had a feeling this is how it would go down when the Bulls didnt go nuts after Bosh. There was no way to keep all 3 happy, and I feel the bulls tried to hold out for the biggest fish. The real killer may have been Amare. If Lebron goes to NYK, it had everything to do with them snatching up Amare and giving Lebron a real scenario, instead of the Bulls "dream" scenarios. They did. He chose to go somewhere else. End of story.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 11:27 AM) Well this is definitely true. I think the bigger problem the NBA has is lack of competitive balance though. There are just so man teams that don't matter, makes it hard to keep fans interested. Welcome to every professional sport but football.

QUOTE (SoxFan562004 @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 10:53 AM) Well if he wants to win titles than you can easily defend him signing with the Heat, but between the Cavs, Knicks, Bulls and Nets I agree with you. Problem with the 3 of them going to the Heat is that they would have no money left. It would be the 3 of them and 9 other guys on minimum contracts. 2 superstars, one all star and a bunch of D-leaguers. One injury and that team goes to crap. Everyone was arguing that it was always Lebron on 5 in Cleveland, well, it potentially is Lebron and Wade (or Bosh) on 5, which is nearly as bad. These guys aren't THAT good, especially against teams with other all star calibar players. IMO Lebron/Rose/Noah/Boozer/Deng + bench is nearly as good as Lebron/Wade/Bosh/nobody/nobody and a nobody bench.

QUOTE (SoxFan562004 @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 10:53 AM) Well if he wants to win titles than you can easily defend him signing with the Heat, but between the Cavs, Knicks, Bulls and Nets I agree with you.

Byron Scott sucks. The Bulls could easily compete with the top east teams if they can get Boozer and another shooter like Allen. They're a year older and more experienced and they can hang with the Cavs/Celtics (especially w/o Allen) and Magic. Miami worries me only if they get Lebron. But Wade and Bosh aren't enough to be the clear favorite. The east will have 4-5 good teams next year - Boston, Chicago, Orlando, Miami and wherever Lebron goes. And IMO anyone who thinks the Bulls suck because they failed to get the top 3 is just being unrealistic. This isn't baseball. They can't offer more money. It's completely up to the players to decide who they want to play with and in what city they'd like to play in. The bulls can't really change the fact that they're based in Chicago and they clearly have the best existing roster. These arguments are dumb.

I still think that if you add Boozer and a shooter like Allen, the Bulls could easily contend next year (assuming Lebron goes anywhere but Miami).

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 09:52 AM) And had they had a deal lined up with Chicago and Bosh said no, we'd have heard about it and I'd be a lot more willing to listen to the "oh, the poor Bulls did everything they could here and just came up empty" sympathy angle. You're complaining about something you (1) have no knowledge of and (2) is meaningless in the long run. It was Bosh's decision. I'm quite confident that the Bulls told Bosh they'd work something with Toronto to get him a s&t. Neither the Bulls nor Toronto has ever come out and said Noah was the sticking point.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 09:43 AM) If you're the Bulls, you offer Noah to the Raptors in a sign and trade from the beginning. You had to acquire him to not only avoid coming up empty, but also make Wade make a decision. That is entirely on the Bulls, end of story. If Wade and Bosh were so tied together, make them prove how tied together they were. And getting snuggy with WWW is nice, but every other person surrounded by LeBron is a friend who benefits from him staying in Cleveland (which is why it'd make sense if he stays there). You can't put all of your trust into one guy like that, or you risk looking like an idiot as the Bulls now do. Regardless of the fact that you don't know what the Bulls did or didn't do, who gives a s*** if the Bulls offered this and Toronto accepted? You're completely ignoring the fact that it was Bosh's decision and he never made it. Toronto had a deal lined up with the Cavs but Bosh said no.

QUOTE (whitesoxfan101 @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 09:35 AM) Well we don't know everything they did wrong for sure. But it sounds like the two biggest mistakes were buying into the relevance of William Wesley in LeBron's circle and not securing Chris Bosh first (even if it took giving up the almighty Joakim Noah) to take away Wade's options in Miami in terms of getting help. Acquring Bosh early on also would have made Chicago an even more attractive spot. 1) The WWW angle is unfair. Prior to this whole process, everyone and their mother figured that WWW was THE man pulling all the strings. Moreover, they clearly hedged their bet when they went after Bosh/Wade before speaking with Lebron in the first place. 2) I have yet to see a report that says the Bulls didn't go after Bosh hard. Everyone has said the opposite. ESPN Chicago's guy just said the Bulls sold him as best they could but that Bosh's number one choice was always Miami. They can't force the guy to sign. The whole s&t angle is meaningless. Toronto had ZERO to do with where Bosh ended up. They were blindsided by his decision just like everyone else. So who cares if they failed to offer up Noah. Toronto never had the chance to accept that deal and THEN convince Bosh to accept it. The Bulls front office did everything they could. I just don't see what they did wrong here. Screwed by circumstane, that's about all you can say.

QUOTE (scenario @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 09:13 AM) Meh, I can't blame LBJ for doing the TV thing. The reporters were going to be hanging out in front of his house for hours with locals chanting for him to stay, etc., anyway. All they're doing is organizing and controlling the process rather than letting it turn into mayhem. a press conference is one thing, an hour long special is another

QUOTE (DrunkBomber @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 09:04 AM) I can safely say I have no idea what LeBron has going on in his head. Im trying to think about this in the most basic way for each scenario. Cleveland- IMO cant be an option at this point Chicago-Rose/Noah, Big market, hed be "the guy", max contract, money for another piece Miami-perennial super team, would never be his team, not max money, no depth New York- He likes the city, Amari, potential for Mello New Jersey-huge Jay Z fan, likes the Russians accent, some good young players with Harris, Lopez, Brooklyn down the road I know Im biased but this seems like such a no brainer its ridiculous. As someone said earlier, LeBron and Boozer in Chicago would make for an awesome rivalry with Miami and IMO Chicago would easily have the upper hand. I think this is the problem, as Steve notes. We're all assuming Lebron is a rational human being. He's led by a bunch of 24-25 year old kids. Some of the reports from the presentations basically said this. The fact that someone advised Lebron to due a ONE HOUR special on ESPN to make his decision has to be one of the worst PR moves in sports history. He either (1) stabs Cleveland in the face, on national TV, and becomes public enemy #1 or (2) just pissed off 3-4 other major cities. Either way, he's drawing a ton of negative attention to his decision.

QUOTE (MurcieOne @ Jul 7, 2010 -> 09:01 AM) This is how Bosh is going to get his S&T Max Deal. That is how you call a bluff, get Bosh to commit and then force Toronto into acting. that takes some balls by Bosh to gamble ~ 30 million.